Privacy and Security

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By visiting Burdekin Shire Council’s websites, you are accepting the practices described in this Website Privacy and Security Statement.

For the purposes of this statement, personal information refers to any information that may enable the identification of an individual visitor to the website.

Public Records

E-mail correspondence, blog comments and information provided via web forms can constitute public records and can be retained as required by the Public Records Act 2002 and other relevant legislation.

Use and disclosure

We will only use personal information collected via our website for the purposes for which it was given to us and/or for related, internal management purposes.

Collection of personal information

As a visitor to the Burdekin Shire Council websites, you will not be required to disclose personal information to visit or browse our site unless you voluntarily choose to do so, for example by making a payment, emailing us or choosing to complete a survey.

When you visit the Burdekin Shire Council websites, the following information is recorded for the purpose of gathering statistics, in order to monitor usage of the websites and provide the optimum online service to our customers:

This information gathered by Burdekin Shire Council as a result of your visit to our website will not be used in any way to identify individual users. The information gathered (outlined above) helps us continually improve your experience while visiting our site.

Any personal information will only be stored in the event that you voluntarily provide it to us, such as making an online payment, the completion of an online survey or form, by submitting an email enquiry or maintenance request. This information will be used for the purpose for which it was provided and will not be disclosed to other persons or organisations without your prior approval or if authorised or required by law.

Pages or applications on the Burdekin Shire Council websites that require you to voluntarily disclose personal information are governed by the following collection notice.

Collection notice

You are providing personal information which will be used for the purpose of delivering services and carrying out council business.

Your personal information is handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 and will be accessed by persons who have been authorised to do so. Your information will not be given to any other person or agency unless you have given us permission or the disclosure is required by law.

Cookies

Cookies are text files that a website can transfer to your computer when you access information on that site. Cookies allow websites to recognise you as you browse their website.

We use Google Analytics to gather statistics about how the website is accessed. Google Analytics uses cookies to gather information for the purpose of providing statistical reporting.

The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers located outside of Australia. No personally identifying information is recorded or provided to Google.

Most Internet browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can customise your browser not to accept cookies without first notifying you.

Information gathered using the Google Analytics cookie includes:

the number of visitors to our website

how visitors arrive at our website, for example, did they type the address in directly, follow a link from another webpage, or arrive via a search engine?

the number of times each page is viewed and for how long

time and date of visit

geographical location of the visitor

information about what browser was used to view our website and the operating system of the computer

information about whether the browser supports Java and Flash

the speed of the user’s internet connection.

MailChimp and privacy consent

To provide our news we use MailChimp, which provides online tools that can be used to create, send, and manage emails. MailChimp may collect personal information, such as distribution lists which contain email addresses, and other information relating to those email addresses. For further information about the type of personal information MailChimp collects, refer to the MailChimp Privacy Policy.

We will only use this information to:

create, send and manage emails relating to the work of the council

measure email campaign performance

improve the features for specific segments of customers

evaluate your use of our website

compile reports on website activity for website operators, and

provide other services relating to website activity and internet usage.

MailChimp may transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on MailChimps’s behalf. MailChimp collects information about when you visit the website, when you use the services, your browser type and version, your operating system, and other similar information.

MailChimp is based in the United States of America (USA) and the information collected about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by MailChimp on servers located outside Australia. We are required to inform you that by subscribing to our eNewsletter:

you understand and acknowledge that this service utilises a MailChimp platform, which is located in the United States of America (USA) and relevant legislation of the USA will apply

Australian Privacy Principle 8.1 contained in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act will not apply

you understand and acknowledge that MailChimp is not subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and you will not be able to seek redress under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) but will need to seek redress under the laws of the USA.

You can opt out of our mailing list if you choose the ‘unsubscribe’ service provided by MailChimp in every email, or contact us. You can also disable or refuse cookies or disable Flash player; however, you may not be able to use the services provided by MailChimp if cookies are disabled. Contact MailChimp.

MailChimp has the endorsement of TRUSTe’s Privacy Seal, which means this privacy policy has been reviewed by TRUSTe for compliance with their program requirements including transparency, accountability, and choice related to the collection and use of your personal information. TRUSTe is an independent third party that operates a globally-recognised privacy trustmark.

External websites

From time to time, council’s websites may direct you to external websites which we believe may enhance your experience or provide additional information. Council may not have control over the content on these sites and advises you to view the relevant privacy and security statements for those sites. Linking to the website does not necessarily mean that council endorses that site or any of its content or affiliates.

Security for Online Payments

As the Internet is essentially a large global network of computers, owned by many different individuals and businesses, there are no definitive regulations, legislation or security mechanisms in place to protect personal information sent via the Internet from misuse by third parties.

Secure online payments

When you choose to make an online payment here at Burdekin Shire Council’s website, you will be redirected to our payments provider, CommSecure, for the completion of your transaction. When booking tickets you will be redirected to our ticketing provider, SeatAdvisor, for the completion of your transaction. Burdekin Shire Council does not view, store or retain any of your credit card details.

128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption is used to secure your credit card details whilst being transmitted over the Internet. SSL protects the information you submit to us by scrambling it. This makes it extremely difficult for third parties to intercept the information which in turn, greatly reduces the chance of your credit card details being misused.

Burdekin Shire Council provides alternative methods of payment, including face to face, telephone, mailing and paper forms if you are uncomfortable with transmitting your payment online.

Recognising a secure site

A “secure” area is recognised by the closed padlock or an unbroken key coming into view in the bottom status bar in your web browser. You can also check to make sure that a valid site certificate is being used. A site certificate is used to validate a site’s authority to use SSL and authenticates the website’s state of security. This enables you to check the site’s validity yourself. You can do this by double clicking on either the closed padlock or the unbroken key.

Conditions of Use, Notices and Revisions

If you choose to visit Burdekin Shire Council’s websites, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Notice and our legal information, including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application of the law of the State of Queensland. If you have any concerns about privacy whilst visiting Burdekin Shire Council’s websites, please send a thorough description to The Chief Executive Officer, Burdekin Shire Council, 145 Young Street, Ayr, 4807. Please check our website frequently to view recent changes.